2001 A Public Art Commission for the City of Emeryville
1333 Park Avenue, Emeryville Civic Center, Emeryville, CA

For this
project, I provided a place for Emeryville employees and visitors
to find respite from the urban fray. Under a canopy of trees adjacent
to a new wing of the Civic Center complex, I created a series of three
labyrinths. These are sandblasted into three circular concrete pads,
each with accompanying concrete benches. Visitors can sit and focus
as they visually ponder the paths of the labyrinths which all lead
to a center spot. The designs each reference a different culture—one
comes from motifs on Hopi Indian baskets, the second references Lucca
Cathedral in Italy, while the third is patterned after a labyrinth
near the ruined church of John the Baptist in Northampshire, England.

Local residents and city employees who participated in a city-sponsored
survey selected the designs from a small informational and graphic
booklet that I designed. Images of different labyrinths from various
societies with information about their histories were included in
the booklet. Participants were able to vote for those they most appreciated.
The three with the most votes were created.

Project Team

Labyrinth stencils Thomas Swan Sign Co.

Labyrinth sandblasting
Golden Gate Sandblasting

Concrete furnishings Durastone Architectural Concrete Forms

Special thanks to City employees and neighbors for voting on final labyrinths